Fourteen years later, he had a dream. That dream was to cross the country with a group of friends for a glorious summer of spontaneous adventure and excitement. As such a trip would not be possible until the end of his senior year of high school, he had an entire four years to both dream and design, held back by nothing but time.
"Someday...." he would sigh.
As the days turned into weeks, and months into years, Andrew found that his dream may be just too absurd and impractical -- none of his friends would invest their time, money, or energy towards creating such an immersive adventure. Tied down by various vernal infatuations, they one by one declined.
The excitement, the opportunity! Why weren't people flocking to join at the mere prospect of such an epic experience?
Just in the nick of time, Andrew made a friend who seemed to be as crazy as he was. His name was Kevin.
Once introduced to the idea, Kevin attached himself quickly to the All-American Roadtrip. He soon began to integrate his own ideas into the planning process and became a necessary part of the trip.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Over the next year, both Andrew and Kevin delved deeply into life. A penetrating year saturated with both experiences of fulfillment and painful times of tribulation caused their summer adventure to shift focus into something entirely new, something entirely more meaningful.
This adventure would not be a time of reckless debauchery, as many teenagers might hope for their senior summer. Instead, while taking a very literal physical odyssey, Andrew and Kevin would also be on a spiritual, transcendental journey.
"I must find my roots before I sprout branches," Andrew wrote in his trip journal.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
...inspired by artistic expression...intrigued by human thought and culture...enraptured by natural grandeur...
Ready to open their eyes, they are crossing the country to find perspective. Passionate about living, they are crossing the country to find life.
And as Kevin writes, "This trip is only the beginning..."